


An Extremely Important Tempest Debate

by Xelleca



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23332282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xelleca/pseuds/Xelleca
Summary: A very serious and important debate breaks out on the Tempest.  Lines are drawn, arguments are made.  Vetra starts thinking a certain way about a certain Pathfinder.
Relationships: Vetra Nyx/Male Ryder | Scott
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	An Extremely Important Tempest Debate

“Hey, Vetra! I’ve got a question for you!”

Vetra tightened her mandibles and internally groaned. “No, turians do not lay eggs.”

Ryder stared at her, as did Peebee and Liam across the table. 

“That wasn’t my question! Also, did you think I thought that? Do I come across like a person who would think that?” Ryder seemed genuinely upset about Vetra’s presumed question. She felt her neck blushing and quickly crossed to the table.

“Uh, no, you don’t - sorry, I get that a lot from humans. What’s the question?”

Ryder turned to look at her as if she were on trial. 

“Socks while sleeping?”

“Yeah, why?”

Ryder’s face lit up and he turned back to Peebee and Liam. “See, told you it wasn’t just me!”

Peebee shook her head vigorously. “No, that just means you’re both weirdos! Sock-sleeping weirdos!”

Vetra, suddenly invested in defending her sleeping habits, took the seat next to Ryder. “Don’t your feet get cold?”

Ryder gestured at her. “Yeah, that!”

Liam threw his hands up. “I put them under the blanket, like a normal person!”

“Then they get too warm!” Ryder responded. Vetra found herself both agreeing with the Pathfinder and finding his genuine enthusiasm...refreshing. She was used to ‘colleagues’ either sticking solely to business or being wildly unprofessional. Both in the same person was rare to nonexistent. 

But here it was in Ryder. Vetra chimed in. “It gets freezing at night in my room! I have to wear socks.”

SAM clicked in. “Ms. Nyx, your room’s median temperature between 2000 and 0600 Tempest time is 20.1 degrees Celsius. This is comparable to all other living areas in the ship.”

Vetra rolled her eyes. “Thank you, SAM, but I’m a turian. We like warmth. A lot of warmth.”

Peebee sat up from her usual slouch. “See! It doesn’t count, turians are cold all the time!”

Ryder didn’t back down. “It totally counts! The question was ‘is it weird to wear socks to bed?’ not ‘is it weird to wear socks to bed, only applicable if you have five toes?’!”

“Cora! Hey, help me out here!” Cora looked less than thrilled at Liam’s request. She stopped in her tracks and waited.

“Is it weird to wear socks while you sleep?”

Cora was both surprised and not surprised. “Normal, I guess? I do it.”

Ryder pointed at Liam. “Ha! Three to two!”

Peebee was nonplussed. “Cora’s weird, doesn’t count.”

“Hey! I am not wei-“

“Gil! Urgent question!”

“Hello to you too, Mr. Kosta.”

“Socks in bed?”

All heard a disgusted noise from the omni tool feed.

“Absolutely not! Are there people on this ship that do? Can we fire them?”

“One of them can fire you,” Ryder responded.

“The representative of humanity in a new galaxy wears socks to bed? We should just turn around and go home at this point, honestly...” Gil muttered as Liam closed the comm.

“Alright, that’s three for normal, three for sock weirdos,” Peebee counted off on her hands. “Drack! I know you’re in the kitchen, you old dinosaur!”

Drack popped his head out of the galley. "What? I'm busy making dinner for you ingrates."

"Do you wear socks in bed?"

Drack made a noise that was comparable to a snort. "Never had time to take them off. Krogan women aren't known for patience."

Peebee put her hands over her ears. "Ew, no, it's like hearing my grandpa talk about sex."

Ryder laughed. "Wistfully: they don't make them like that anymore."

"Drack, we meant, like, to sleep," Liam clarified.

Drack paused. "Oh, yeah. I get cold at night." 

"See, it's not just me!" Vetra added, "This ship is too cold."

Peebee scoffed. "That just means you're both old."

Vetra stared at Peebee. "You're over three times older than me."

Peebee gestured. "Semantics."

"That's not what semantics mean," Cora noted.

"If you pyjaks will excuse me, I have to finish dinner," Drack said with no small amount of disdain. A cloud of smoke began to draft out of the kitchen behind him. Ryder started.

"Uh, Drack? What's...going on in the kitchen?"

Drack turned around and shrugged. "Oh, that's normal. Smoke gives varren shanks their flavor, it's fine." With that, he sealed the kitchen door. Ryder sighed. 

"SAM? Prep the fire suppressors in the galley."

"Of course, Pathfinder."

Peebee flailed. "Wait, SAM, what do you think about wearing socks to sleep?"

There was a pause. "I neither wear socks nor sleep, Ms. B'Sayle." Peebee groaned at hearing her last name. "I cannot offer an opinion on the matter without further data."

"He's just saying that to be nice to Ryder," Liam said while rolling his eyes. "Let me check with the piloting crew. Suvi, Kallo, we have a question."

"Gil already asked us, said he needed to know if he was 'outnumbered'," Suvi responded. "I don't see what the problem is! Socks are comfy."

Peebee mouthed the word 'nerd'. "And Kallo doesn't wear socks. Says they're 'not a salarian thing'."

"That counts as one for!" Liam made a fist. "Four to five! I count that as a victory once SAM gets a robot body or something."

Vetra flared her mandibles in a manner even non-turians could read as sarcastic. "Congrats, Kosta, you only lost by a wide margin instead of an incredibly wide one." Liam grumbled and got up. The rest of the table followed. As she was walking away, Vetra found Ryder in front of her. _Still not used to how...friendly he is. Friendly, yeah._

"High-five for Team Socks!" Ryder held up his hand. Vetra slapped his hand softly, which was apparently enough for Ryder. "Woo!"

***

The next evening, Vetra entered her room and found something lying on her bed. After checking with her visor that it wasn't anyone trying to get the jump on her, she cautiously turned on the light. On her bunk was a thick, insulated, Alliance marine standard-issue blanket. It looked like a grey cloud. Vetra flared her mandibles in joy. As she picked it up to inspect it, a note - an actual, physical paper note - floated down. Vetra picked it up and, after letting her visor translate, read it. 

"Vetra,

Thanks for backing me up on the debate yesterday. I checked with Gil, can't do anything about the heat (sorry!), but picked this up for you from the Hyperion. Should keep you toasty!

From, your sock buddy,

Scott (Ryder)"

Vetra's subharmonics rung with gratitude, appreciation, and...something else she couldn't (or wouldn't) quite place. She quickly changed into her sleep underclothes and slipped under the blanket. It was the most comfortable she'd been in...her whole life, now that she thought about it. And she had the Pathfinder - no, Ryder - to thank for it. _He is a rare breed._

She pulled up her omni-tool and pulled up Ryder's comms. 

VNyx: ~~Hey, just wanted to thank you for the blanket. Appreciate it.~~

_No, that's...way too professional. It sounds like a business deal._

VNyx: ~~Hey, Scott, thanks for the gift! You're the best!~~

_Spirits, what am I, 12? Okay, think._

VNyx: Hey, Ryder, thanks for the blanket. I don't get a lot of gifts, so it means a lot. Thanks.

_Yeah, that's...good. And send._

She got a ping back in seconds. 

SRyd: Welcome! Anything for my sock buddy :)

_What does that mean? Is that...a face?_

SRyd: Hope it fits alright. Sorry, I couldn't find a turian version.

Vetra felt a light pain in her chest at the thought of Ryder thinking she was ungrateful. She quickly snapped a holo of her under the blanket, making sure her plates were sheened, and her mandibles spread. 

_Wait, why did I care about looking good for Ryder?_

SRyd: Looks cozy! Glad you like it, V. Sleep tight!

_V, huh?_

_..._

_Yeah, I can work with that._

***

Across the Tempest, Scott Ryder, Pathfinder of humanity, Captain of the Tempest, was staring at his omni-tool.

"Scott, are you alright?" SAM chimed in. "You've been composing your message for 15 times longer than usual."

Ryder snapped out of it. "Yeah, yeah, I'm...good, SAM. Thanks. Just...thinking." He quietly deleted his written message and turned to go to bed.

SRyder: ~~I'd be happy to join you under it sometime.~~

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Just a fun idea I typed out during a bout of insomnia.


End file.
